AVAILABLE NOW. 'The Artist as an Old Man (Self-Portrait)'

The artist returns to Auckland 

After twenty years in London a somewhat notorious Kiwi  artist returns home when his life falls apart as a result of fraud, death and depression. The Artist as an Old Man (Self-Portrait) is a personal hour-by-hour journal of the day of his first New Zealand exhibition.

Accustomed to always being busy, the restless artist — eccentric, irritable and ageing — suddenly has nothing to do until the exhibition’s evening opening. And so we follow him and his sometimes angry and unreasonable thoughts, including lingering doubts about his own work, through the long day.

Having experienced financial relief before the exhibition, an unpleasant encounter at the exhibition, and sadness after it, he returns home at the end of the day ready to face his new life, alone and lonely, in Dunedin. 

The Artist as an Old Man (Self-Portrait) is available now from Amazon and Kindle and from my website soon. 

 

The first review of 'The Fable of Flitcroft Point is in. It's five-star. Very perceptive. And it's from Germany.

 

It says, in English (according to Herr Google): 

"The acting persons [the characters] are very lively and you feel with them. This is not just a made-up story but could have happened several times - for the Maori in New Zealand and everywhere in the world."  

My new novel 'The Fable of Flitcroft Point' is now AVAILABLE

 

Yes. The Fable of Flitcroft Point will be available soon is available now in New Zealand paperback and internationally from Amazon and Kindle. 
Set in the distamt future, it's like nothing  else I've ever written. 

HERE IS THE COVER BLURB: 

 Early in the twenty-first century a series of viruses killed eighty percent of the world’s population. Famine loomed.

In New Zealand there was plenty of food but too few people to process it. The surviving city folk therefore fled to the countryside where they provided labour to the remaining farmers in return for a share of the food they helped produce. As a result the country’s towns and cities were abandoned.

Into this vacuum came the invading Vandiers, so numerous and wealthy they dominated the small Kiwiland population whose traditions, culture, religion and language they despised.

The Fable of Flitcroft Point is set in a typical Kiwiland village where, in 2177, the land-grabbing Vandier government has taken village land for its own purposes. The Kiwilanders, angry and frustrated, want their land back. But can their feeble protest succeed against the overwhelming power of central government? 

 

At last. Now ALL my books are available internationally as Amazon paperbacks and Kindle e-books.

Yes. All eleven of my books are now available here in paperback (ideal for posting as gifts to anywhere in the world) and Kindle downloads.

'Jacko. One Bloke. One Year.' Paperback now available to New Zealand readers.

 

Only $34.50 from my website. 

Or email me here and pay online to my bank account 060 583 0891406 00. 

Kindle version available here. 

See all my books on my website or on Amazon/Kindle.

My new book. Ready for printing and publishing. Kindle available now.

 Here it is. Now available from Kindle. Paperback available soon. 

Jackson Fearnsby’s fiftieth year began badly, ended better, and was in between punctuated by a series of seasonal events and anniversaries shared with his friends and family. Set in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1950, this story follows the life of an ordinary man in an ordinary job living an ordinary life with his ordinary family in an ordinary city — then no more than a large town — while struggling with the doubts and anxieties which came with middle-age to an already troubled mind.

Download the Kindle file here.   

One of the benefits of the Covid lockdown: my new book.

Writers can usually only dream of being able to lock themselves away to work uninterrupted by the 'real world'.  But my dream came true over the lockdown period. I started my new book on May 1 and it's finished.

It's called: 

Jacko. One Bloke. One Year.  

Here's the cover blurb: 

Jackson Fearnsby’s fiftieth year began badly, ended better, and was in between punctuated by a series of seasonal events and anniversaries shared with his friends and family. Set in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1950, this story follows the life of an ordinary man in an ordinary job living an ordinary life with his ordinary family in an ordinary city — then no more than a large town — while struggling with the doubts and anxieties which came with middle-age to an already troubled mind.

It's with readers now, the cover's being designed, so I should have it up on Kindle by the end of October and paperbacks available to New Zealand readers by the middle of November.  Email me now to reserve an early copy. 

'The Boys and Men of Auckland's Mickey Rooney Gang' is here.

‘Bolton’s new book lifts the dark lid off Auckland’s past in a brilliant, clever read. Loved it.’

Sir Bob Harvey

The Kindle version's been available for a couple of weeks and now, at last, the first printed copies have arrived at my studio and are available for sale. 

Only $34.50 

You can order your copy online from my website or email me and pay with online banking.  

First reactions are in for my new book. And they're brilliant.

Two important and discerning early readers have posted brilliant reviews of my new book, The Boys and Men of Auckland's Mickey Rooney Gang. 

'To understand the shape of the real Auckland of the 50s this is a truly great reveal. Loved it.'
Sir Bob Harvey

'I loved this book. Superbly drawn characters and a clever, interwoven plot make for compulsive reading with a few shocking surprises. Ten out of ten. But not for the faint-hearted.' 

Lel Scott, Director, PublishMe self-publishing.

The Boys and Men of Auckland's Mickey Rooney Gang is available now from Kindle. Or you can order your paperback version from my website for delivery late February.    

NEW. 'The Boys and Men of Auckland's Mickey Rooney Gang'. KIndle version available NOW

I started it on 1 April, 2018. Now, after nearly two years work, my new book is finished. It's called The Boys and Men of Auckland's Mickey Rooney Gang and it's like nothing I've ever written before. It's off to the printer now and will soon be available from my website. Meanwhile the very affordable Kindle version is available now. 
Here's the cover and the back cover blurb: 

In a working-class suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, in 1957, eight mildly rebellious schoolboys, inevitably obsessed with sex, were attracted to the arrogant and thoroughly delinquent little Mickey Rooney whose fantastic dreams of Hollywood fame were to be his downfall.

It wasn’t a real gang, and it didn’t last long. It disintegrated after an obscene practical joke played by Mickey on the gang’s most vulnerable member. Meanwhile, though, the boys’ thoughts, conversations and actions, which were largely crude and obscene – as the thoughts, conversations and actions of boys and men often are – are faithfully reported here in plain and graphic language.

The book then follows the boys into manhood. Nine men. Nine lives involving love and romance, sadness and joy, success and failure, illness and death, drugs and vice, violence and crime, and murder.

Nine men with nothing in common but the teenage year they wasted in Mickey Rooney’s gang. 

KINDLE VERSION AVAILABLE NOW. PAPERBACK VERSION AVAILABLE SOON. EMAIL ME HERE TO RESERVE YOUR COPY FOR DELIVERY LATE FEBRUARY.

My short story collection now available on Kindle

Until now my short stories have been available only in paperback and only in New Zealand as the cost of posting such a 'fat' book internationally is more than the the cost of the book itself. But now I've put all my short stories -- more than seventy of them -- together in one Kindle file which can be downloaded (from here) to any Kindle, phone, tablet or computer in the world for only $US3.99. 

More than seventy of my  short stories in one Kindle file for only $US3.99

Read what Vladimir Ashkenazy said about 'For Viktor'. Now available from Kindle.

It's taken a while -- I wanted to wait until the new cover was ready -- but For Viktor is now available from Kindle.

Maestro Ashkenazy is an acknowledged expert on Russian music. He has recorded Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition twice and has created his own orchestration of the suite which he has recorded with the Philharmonia Orchestra as well as conducting its performance with other orchestras all over the world. 

Here's what he said about For Viktor.    

What Vladimir Ashkenazy said about ‘For Viktor’

Dear Mr Bolton, 

I read your book For Viktor. The Story of Mussorgsky's 'Pictures at an Exhibition' with great interest and satisfaction. I think it is very important to try to bring school children to a certain level of appreciation and understanding of what great music of the great composers brings to all of us. I know of numerous examples of how children react being exposed to well presented lessons based on this kind of music and the results are absolutely astounding; apart from the fact that as they grow up they almost never abandon their affection for the serious music, they perform much better in all other subjects of their curriculum than those children who were not exposed to the same musical appreciation program. I know first hand of these examples in many countries - from the U.K. to Russia - having been a part of such programs.

I think your very well presented book on 'Pictures' could be a wonderful item in such a curriculum and I think you should endeavour in presenting it to various educational institutions in your country. I'll be delighted to be of help when needed and send you all my best wishes.

Sincerely

(Signed)

Vladimir Ashkenazy

About For Viktor

Based on fact, and historically accurate, For Viktor is written in Modest Mussorgsky’s own voice as he guides a young companion around the picture exhibition held in honour of his friend Viktor Hartman at the Academy of Artists in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in 1874. It was this exhibition which inspired Mussorgsky to write the suite of music he called ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’.

The book is written to be read or delivered in time with the playing of the music. The duration of each section — including each of the promenades — is about the same as the musical piece it describes. Indeed, important events in the narrative often intersect with appropriate moments in the music to bring the unseen pictures to life.

It is indeed a unique meeting of art, music and literature.

'The Fine Art of Kindness' gets its first Amazon review. And it's a FIVE-STAR.

The Fine Art of Kindness

I sold my first copy of The Fine Art of Kindness at Parnell market yesterday and I told the buyer that  although he wasn't the first reader he was definitely the first sale.  Anyway, he  emailed me today to tell me how much he had  enjoyed the book -- he had read it in one sitting -- and that he had reviewed it on Amazon. 

His five-star review follows:

A thoughtful tale, well told. You will be entertained and richer for the experience. Don't miss it!

A touching story of 2 older folks reunited after 70 odd years and their time together, until one passes. Robert has done an excellent job of introducing us to the characters and unraveling their secrets over 234 pages. Having met the author I was surprised at the depth of his perception of the character of the subjects. A little challenging at first but the story evolved quickly into a chance encounter which for Jack carried many past memories of kindness and comfort. For a little boy who had a rough upbringing. He briefly experienced a world more nurturing than his own and this had a profound influence on his life's path and the impact of the meeting in later life. The character Betty in contrast experienced huge wealth and poverty in her life, latterly influenced by a medical event early in her married life. This drove her to become what she became and do what she did. Without people like Betty in our world, we would all be that much poorer. Her contributions both financially and physically to children's hospitals and her community were astounding, when you consider the heights her life experienced. While this is a work of fiction one cannot help but wonder if there really was a Betty out there. Judging by the contributors to this narrative it seems our lives are blessed with people like Betty, large of heart and small of profile. Robert has done an excellent job of drawing the reader into a "slice of life" story and telling us who the characters were. He makes us all, perhaps, look at our lives in a different way. An entertaining read. I completed the whole story in one sitting. Fascinated with who these people were and what was coming next. I have no hesitation in recommending the book and its author to all thoughtful readers.

Another FREE Kindle promotion

This time I've set up a free Kindle promotion for my new book The Fine Art of Kindness which will run until Sunday night (NZ time). I posted the promotion on Facebook and then boosted it to the UK and Australia so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

One Kindle FREE promotion ends; another is about to begin.

My Kindle free promotion of To The White Gate ended last (Sunday) night (New Zealand time). I was surprised how few people took up the offer given this book's popularity. However, a writer writes only to be read and I hope those unknown people who downloaded this lovely book go on to enjoy it (and review it I hope).
Equally as lovely and moving, in its own way, is my new novel The Fine Art of Kindness. It, too, will be available FREE from Kindle later this week. It's got no official reviews yet -- after all, it's brand new -- but informal feedback so far has been terrific. The free Kindle download will be available from 8.00 pm Thursday 22 March until 8.00 pm Monday 26 March (all times New Zealand). 

FREE Kindle promotion of 'To The White Gate' is under way

It started at 8 o'clock last night (Tuesday night) New Zealand time and runs until 8 o'clock Sunday night. The time-zone differences - made worse by the start of daylight saving in California and daylight saving being still in effect in NZ - make it complicated for me to keep track but I have established that, for the moment at least, the difference is four hours and a day. 
I don't know how the promotion will go; as of nine o'clock this (Wednesday) morning there were four copies 'sold' and that's before I posted the promotion on my two Facebook pages. 

Free Kindle promotion of two titles

I've just set up Kindle FREE world-wide promotions for two of my books.

1. To The White Gate

Five days. Runs from New Zealand time 9.00 pm Wednesday 14 March (12.01 am Wednesday 14 March PST) to 9.00 pm Sunday 18 March (12.00 midnight Saturday 17 March PST).

2. The Fine Art of Kindness

For some reason I could not make this programme wouldn't let me run for five days. Don't know why. So, runs from New Zealand time 9.00 pm Thursday 22 March (12.01 am Thursday 22 March PST) to 9.00 pm Monday 25 March (12.00 midnight Sunday 25 March PST).

NOTE: It is almost impossible to follow the rules on these free Kindle promos. The website says that promotions run from midnight of the start day to midnight of the end day for a maximum of five days.

What I think they really mean is that a promo runs from say 00.01 am on the start date and runs until say 11.59 pm on the end date. It's all very confusing. The website says:

Choose when the promotion starts and ends. Start and end dates are midnight Pacific Time. For example, if you enter a start date of January 3 and an end date of January 7, your deal would run on January 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Kindle Free Book Deal promotions can run for up to 5 days.

A further complication is that the times are PST which means adjusting for both New Zealand and California daylight time.  

Amazon is now stocking 'The Fine Art of Kindness' for sale anywhere in the world.

Yes. The Fine Art of Kindness is now available here from both Amazon and Kindle.   

The Fine Art of Kindness' Kindle edition now available

Self-publishing is a slow, meticulous, step-by-step process requiring patience and attention to detail. So I'm pleased to say that my new novel, The Fine Art of Kindness, is now available from Kindle. You can get it (and all my Amazon and Kindle books) HERE.

Next will be the Amazon edition. And finally the local print edition. 

The Tapu Garden of Eden. FREE Kindle download for a limited time.

The Tapu Garden of Eden -- one of my most popular books by far -- is now available internationally from both Amazon (paperback) and Kindle.

While it was written for adults, and has been favourably compared to The Whalerider, I have discovered that teens, boys and girls, love it and find that they can't put it down. As a result it has become popular in high schools, and with parents and teachers.

I already have four of my books available from Amazon and Kindle and to mark the addition of The Tapu Garden of Eden I have made the Kindle version available as a FREE download from late Sunday night (30 April) (NZT) until 7.00 pm Thursday 4 May (NZT). (The strange times are the result of converting US Pacific time.) 

To download your copy go here.